Editorial: Ditch the bluegill; anoint the shark

Friday

Aug 31, 2007 at 12:01 AMAug 31, 2007 at 12:06 AM

Taking a look at Illinois' official symbols to find a better fit for state government

In late August, Gov. Rod Blagojevich took time from carving up the state budget and picking on lawmakers to sign Senate Bill 199, naming the GoldRush apple as Illinois' official fruit. This variety is described as acidic, coarse and thin-skinned -- arguably just like the governor himself.

All throughout the recently ended "spring" legislative session, Illinois' chief executive treated one and all to a taste of his governing style: jetting back and forth to Chicago whilst business was conducted in Springfield; threatening to torpedo the budget unless his massive health-care expansion passed; nearly coming to blows with a senator of his own party. This week, Blagojevich topped himself by suing House Speaker Michael Madigan, who dared disobey the guv's calls for more special sessions. Since we're adding the GoldRush to Illinois' roster of official symbols, why not revisit the existing ones to better fit our state's leadership?

State animal: Currently it's the white-tailed deer, too spry a beast for a Legislature that took a record-breaking eight months to pass a spending plan. More appropriate? The three-toed sloth.

State flower: Change it from the pretty violet to nasty poison ivy. It's emblematic of how Senate President Emil Jones caught Blagojevich's power rash in refusing to give his chamber any shot at overriding the governor's budget vetoes.

State fish: In 1986, under a Republican governor, Illinois schoolkids picked the bluegill. More fitting now would be the shark, what with all the blood in the water. Those fins circling the Democratic governor? Many belong to rank-and-file Democrats, tired of him dining down on them.

State mineral: It's fluorite. Given how lawmakers larded the $59 million budget with member initiatives, some clearly less vital to the state's long-term welfare than others, Illinois' mineral should be fool's gold.

State insect: We'll keep this one, the Monarch butterfly. It's befitting a governor who fancies himself king.

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